Short story contest begins Feb. 1

House of Deals sponsoring contest for unpublished local authors

Becoming an author is a dream for many people. But to actually do it is another story.

Recently, the House of Deals and Cañon City Daily Record joined forces to offer a short fiction story writing contest for unpublished authors in the area.

The contest will be divided into two age groups, 15 and below, and 16 and above.

"We (will have) published local authors judge (the short stories)," said Michael Hughes, House of Deals owner.

The rules for the entries is a minimum of 1,000 words, but no more than 1,200, typewritten, stapled or attached in a folder with the author's name and telephone number. No profanity or extremely violent stories will be considered

"We want it to be family friendly to run in a (community) newspaper," Hughes said.

He said he came up with the idea after talking to his customers.

"People come in all the time and tell me they're working on a book or they have an idea for a book," Hughes said. "This will give them a platform to be able to express that in a short story. This will allow them to use their creativity to write their story."

Participants are asked to bring the entries to the House of Deals at 611 Main St., starting Feb. 1 and by the deadline of Feb. 28.

The winners of each division will receive a $50 gift certificate to buy merchandise in the House of Deals. Also the winners will be announced in the Cañon City Daily Record and have their stories published in the newspaper the week of March 18.

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For more information, call 285-8756 or visit the House of Deals at 611 Main St.